Last year a few lovely friends sent me a care package from a new-to-me bakery in Brooklyn called Patisserie Tomoko. There were little yuzu-scented cookies, perfect macarons, and pudgy mochi filled with red bean and Earl Grey chocolate truffle, all of which were perfect, but my favorite of the assortment was a little stack of black sesame caramel nut sandwiches. A chewy, fudgy layer of black sesame caramel, studded with walnut pieces and nestled between two thin blankets of crumbly shortbread, it was a combination I’d never thought to try but that worked so well together, sweet and smoky and a little bit savory all in one.
So, being on the other side of the country from Patisserie Tomoko, once I nibbled the last of those cookie sandwiches it was only a matter of time before I tried making them at home. Rather than fiddle with a top and bottom layer of shortbread, these bars take their cues instead from Erin Clarkson’s perfect New Zealand “slices” (a name I just love) and have just the one crisp layer of shortbread as a base, which bakes while you make the black sesame caramel. I added some rye flour to the shortbread to match the earthiness of the walnuts and black sesame, and a touch of white chocolate to the caramel, an ingredient that seems to crop up in a number of caramel fudge recipes out on the Internet, to help it set up easier and give it a fudgier texture. And last but not least, chunky, deeply toasted walnut pieces go in for crunch and a slightly bitter bite to offset the creamy richness of the rest.
The result is so luxurious, decadent but with a little whimsy, by turns smooth and caramelized and toasty and crisp. It’s perfect for cutting into little cubes to treat yourself whenever you need an afternoon pick-me-up, or full-fledged slices for a celebratory dessert. I think it would fit right into a holiday dessert spread–it freezes beautifully, so you could make it now and have it ready on feast day with no fuss. Or, if you’re wanting something quick and easy, you can just make the black sesame caramel layer, throw in some extra white chocolate, and have the best black sesame fudge. There is really no going wrong.
black sesame caramel walnut bars
With inspiration from Patisserie Tomoko and A Cloudy Kitchen. See notes below on how to make a simpler, but no less delicious, black sesame fudge.
Ingredients
For the shortbread crust:
- ½ cup (115 grams or 1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 6 tablespoons (about 50 grams) powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup (about 82 grams) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (about 63 grams) rye flour (alternatively, omit the rye flour and use more all-purpose flour, 145 grams total)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
For the black sesame caramel:
- ¾ cup walnuts, in halves or whole
- 1 teaspoon oil (optional)
- ½ cup black sesame seeds
- 1 cup (8 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup (180 grams) brown sugar
- ½ cup (115 grams or 1 stick) unsalted butter, roughly chopped
- ½ cup (about 90 grams) white chocolate, roughly chopped or chips
- Flaky salt, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- For the shortbread: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan and line with baking or parchment paper. Line a separate baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, vigorously beat together the butter and powdered sugar until light and smooth. Add the powdered sugar and beat until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and mix again until incorporated.
- Sift the flour and salt together. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing gently until it comes together into a thick dough. Press the dough into the bottom of the baking pan into an even layer. Refrigerate briefly until cool and firm, about 10-15 minutes.
- When the shortbread dough has chilled, bake at 325 for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden on top and fragrant. I like to take it a little bit longer for a deeper flavor and crisp texture.
- For the walnuts: Meanwhile, toss the walnuts in oil if desired. (It can give a deeper, toastier flavor with oil but is not crucial.) Spread onto the parchment-lined baking sheet in an even layer. Pop the walnuts into the oven as well (I like to do this in the last 12 minutes or so for the shortbread) and bake at 325 for 10-12 minutes, or until the walnuts are toasty and fragrant. Remove both the walnuts and the shortbread from the oven and let cool.
- For the black sesame caramel fudge: While the shortbread is cooling, in a dry, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat, toast the black sesame seeds for 2-4 minutes, or until they begin to smell fragrant, warm, and roasty. A few may jump in the pan. Take care not to burn them, which is tricky since they are black. If they begin to smell at all burnt, remove immediately from heat.
- In a food processor, blend the black sesame seeds for 3-4 minutes. The seeds will first form a sandy powder, then as you continue processing, will turn moist and begin to release oil. When it forms the consistency of wet sand, stop processing.
- In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine the sweetened condensed milk, brown sugar, and butter. Stir until combined and the sugar is dissolved.
- Turn up the heat to medium and continue to stir until the mixture is simmering and starts to thicken, 5-6 minutes. Turn the heat to low and stir in the black sesame paste and the white chocolate. Stir until the white chocolate is melted and the mixture just begins to bubble at the edges. Remove from heat and fold in the toasted walnuts.
- Pour the fudge over the shortbread crust into the baking tin. Smooth the top and sprinkle salt all over the top if desired. Place in the fridge to set, 3-4 hours or ideally overnight. Cut into small squares to serve. These are rich, so a 1-inch square is often just right for a treat. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 6 months.
Notes
For when you just need something sweet with no fuss, the black sesame layer works all on its own as an amazing fudge. Simply double the amount of white chocolate in the recipe above, then pour the fudge into a parchment-lined baking pan and chill until set. For a firmer texture, let the mixture simmer just a bit longer after you melt in the white chocolate, until you start to see a tiny bit of browning. The fudge is decadent, but the combination of intensely sweet, plus toasty black sesame, with a hit of sea salt on top, is extremely addictive.
Li
This sounds special! BUT, I don’t/musn’t bake so could you perhaps suggest a mail order option from the West Coast? I have the usual hard-to-gift friends who would enjoy these cookies. In any case, thank you for your blog and Mele Kalikimaka to you and yours.
tworedbowls
Hi Li, yes! My friends used Goldbelly to send the original Patisserie Tomoko black sesame caramel nut sandwiches to me, available here–it is sold as part of an assortment. I’m waiting for them to offer the sandwiches by themselves, but alas, no luck yet.
Suzi
I would love to make these for my holiday cookie gifts! They look incredible and I adore black sesame seeds. I am gluten free. Do you have any thoughts on how to convert this recipe to gluten free? I would so appreciate your help. Best,
Suzi
tworedbowls
Hi Suzi! Absolutely–I haven’t personally made a gluten-free shortbread before, but all you need to do is swap in a GF shortbread recipe for the crust above and you’d be all set. A couple of options: I think you could use the crust from Alanna Taylor-Tobin’s GF lemon bar recipe here; Aran Goyoaga always has wonderful GF recipes and it looks like she has a shortbread recipe in her newest book and on her site here. King Arthur Baking also has one using their Measure-for-Measure GF flour here.
I hope that helps and thank you so much for such kind words.
Sis Adger
It’s finally getting cooler here in Louisiana, and I’m ready to put my apron on for some baking! Thanks to you, I have a new recipe to try ❤️ I’m a shortbread fan over a fudge fan, so I’m thinking I might double the shortbread and bake in a 9×13 and have a thinner layer of fudge over the top.
Thanks for the recipe! It just might be on our Thanksgiving table this year!
tworedbowls
Sis, that sounds wonderful! I wonder if you could even just stir the black sesame paste into some white chocolate and do a dipped shortbread. It wouldn’t have the caramelly flavor to it but I can see it being so nice, too. Thank you as always for your friendship and kind words.
Matilda
Hi Cynthia, Just a little note to say thanks for your beautiful cookbook and this wonderful recipe! I usually don’t appreciate fudge because of its toothache-inducing sweetness, but your recipe was just right, maybe because of the bitterness of the black sesame or the savoriness of the seeds, nuts and level of salt? I also loved how “Asian” (or like home) the cookie tasted, even though I’ve never had anything like it in the sweets I had growing up in a Chinese-Canadian household. I had to swap the walnuts for peanuts because a few members of my family have allergies, but otherwise followed your recipe. This cookie is a keeper, and I look forward to maing it every Christmas as part of my cookie platter!
★★★★★
Caroline
Just made these— big fan of black sesame (and your black sesame chocolate loaf from the cookbook!) so thank you for this. Two questions and maybe one tiny suggestion: (1) Step 3 references salt to be added to the shortbread flour, but how much do you recommend? There’s no measurement provided. I just guessed but probably could’ve added more. Shortbread doesn’t necessarily need salt but I figured for these it would help balance out the sweetness of the fudge here. (2) How did you get yours to be such a beautiful dark color?! (Mine came out more gray with black specks… maybe I should have ground the sesame more… or maybe it was the sesame I used?) (3) The measurement for the AP flour alternative is a little confusing (at least for me who was doing late night baking somewhat on autopilot). I ended up adding 145g to the original 82g… fortunately I figured out pretty quickly that was wrong 😅
tworedbowls
Thanks so much for catching these, Caroline! Fixed above. I’m not sure re the color but yes, it may be that blending the black sesame seeds further would help. Cooking the condensed milk, sugar and butter to a darker caramel may also help.
JC
Delicious recipe! One of my faves on your site.
Something of note: for the brown sugar in the recipe, I used Japanese (kokuto) brown sugar, which has a really earthy flavor (and lots of potassium). It was perfect with the sesame.
★★★★★
Victoria
This sounds delicious! Have you tried this with store-bought black sesame seed paste? Wondering about saving myself some effort, but not sure how much to add… also wondering if there would be more flavor if I just took the time to make the paste myself. What do you think? Thanks!
Victoria
Hi, planning to make this for a Mother’s Day cookie box I’m putting together, but I’m wondering if this can be made ahead? Can I make this and freeze the squares? Or how long does it keep in the fridge? Recipe looks amazing and I’m excited to try it 🙂
tworedbowls
Victoria, I’m so sorry I missed this! I know this is far too late, but just in case for next time, I have found they freeze beautifully. If you made them, hope you enjoyed and thanks so much for the kind words.